Holland-Wegman Productions is a large producer of business motion pictures and slide films located in Buffalo, New York. Founded in 1952, the company has grown from initially operating out of a small coach house to employing over 20 skilled creative staff in an 18,000 square foot studio considered one of the finest in the nation. Holland-Wegman Productions serves a diverse clientele ranging from large corporations to nonprofit organizations, producing films that effectively communicate messages to motivate audiences.

1. LIGHTS Continued tion and capabilities of a piece of heavy reputation for solid performance. The
industrial equipment, a new product, or first employe to be hired by the firm,
sidine, Buster Keaton, Cliff Arquette sales and marketing presentation. James I. Allan, is still on the job serving
(Charley Weaver), Andre Baruch and With the exception of sales promo- as production manager. Other long-time
many other personalities whose names tion films, the production of "soft-sell" employes include Palll Ent and John
and .YQi~ ariOfamili1!!:t2 million~B.e-
cently, Holland-Wegman ventured into count lor..u..'" large f.."" l"IPVi~i.~~.
films for a on part of Ho land-Weg- _-GatCl'r seDior wnter-dlrector; Zc.1,tlI6"_ M.
Pike, ~Iegt''flflel:~, Jim Lmnan,
television syndication by purchasing ex- man's business. Most TV stations we1- chief sound engineer; John "Bud" Bjar-
clusive rights to the man recognized by come good, non-commercial films which now, art and animation director; Bill
most experts as the world's greatest bgwl- are either entertaining or have a message Nailos, a jack-of-all-trades set designer.
er, Don Carter. A series of 65 five-minute of interest. Stations have a certain studio manager, editor and cameraman
TV bowling tip shows were produced amount of free time to fill and, if ac- whose professional experience includes
locally for sale through a subsidiary com- c'eptable film is available, most will show stints working on the sets for the Holly-
pany, Saturn Productions. it at no charge, providing there is not a wood production of "Spartacus," the "AI-
Another venture which holds great direct sales message. r ~ such film pro- fred Hitchcock Presents" TV series, and
promise is a unique photo patrol system duced by Hell? gman for an oil "77 Sunset Strip." Earl Rowell directs
for race tracks. The all-electronic system refining comr lJas -'been shown, to operations in the film processing labora-
was developed and perfected under the date, by ') ~aching an audi- tory, which also serves many large in-
direction of Shel Holland, executive vice ence esti~at~iI' a~ ,u')O people. The dustrial photo departments, and com-
president, in test installations at the near- distribl'tion and plachig ol'.ms of this mercial productions such as TV wrestling
by Buffalo Raceway and Batavia Downs type 1~ another client sen 'ce performed films. The lab also proeesses football
tracks. It features a video tape system by the j. .:al film producers. ' movies and provides an expedited film
that enables judges to review an entire Then" ..LOrule of thumb for esti- service for scores of high school and col-
race just fiveseconds after the horses cross mating ..~. ~ .£osts, says Holland- lege football motion picture programs in
the finish line. The system has just been Wegman. The we produced a 28- New York, Pennsylvania and Ohio.
accepted and endorsed by state and na- m" ,. that was budgeted at From their oldest employe - 76-
tional racing associations and is being $75,Jv" about $2,700 per minute. year-old Bill Nicholson, who came out
sold and promoted through another They also nave produced a IS-minute of retirement to join the firm back in the
wholly owned subsidiary, HoIland-Weg- color film, for $6,000, or about $400 per days when they cleaned Ollt the old
man Television Inc. minute. Both were researched and writ- coach house - to one of their newest.
With the development of compact, ten by the Holland-Wegman staff. One Charle's H. (Chuck) Wagner Jr., who
portable, self-contained 8mm prQjectors, took nearly a year to write and produce, switched from a career in advertising to
Holland and Wegman confidently pre- the other a few weeks. Both were effec- selling for Holland-Wegman. the II-year-
dict a big growth in the 8mm business tive and did the job intended. Costs are old company is deeply enmeshed in the
film market. The projectors, in effect, directly related to man-hours and ma- economic mainstream of the community.
make every salesman carrying one of terials, with man-hours .accounting for It is also quickly but steadily causing
these units a walking sound film studio, an estimated 85% of production costs. more and more leading businessmen and
equipped to screen at desk-top conven- In an industry that demands the best business enterprises to look to Buffalo as
ience under normal light a brief film in people and ideas, Holland-Wegman a market source for services demanding
graphically demonstrating the construc- has assembled a work force that has a creative, business-oriented skills. END
20 · BUFFALO.lalll/ary,1964

2. project was undertaken by Edward J. matographers, editors, sound recording staff of skilled artists who can handle
Wegman, for 13 years a staff announcer engineers, artists, animators and labora- most any assignment that comes along,
and featured radio and television per- tory technicians, as well as script girls, but we also have working arrangements
sonality with WREN and WREN-TV, secretaries and other personnel. with nationally known writers and other
and by Sheldon C. Holland, then man- Holland-Wegman's client roster reads artists who are readily available to us
~~Il Aircr~(l Corp:s Photography like the "Who's Who" of business, not whenever particular projects requiring
Dept. The results won an award for the only in the Niagara Frontier but the en- their specialized talents and knowledge
ad agency and sparked the founding -- tire Northeast. The Buffalo company has are required.
on Dec. 31, 1952 -- of HoIland-Weg- produced films for Corning Glass, West- "Of equal importance," he continued,
man Productions Inc., now the largest inghouse, Eastman Kodak, Bausch & "is the fact that we are businessmen
creator and producer of business motion Lomb, General Electric, Carborundum, as well as film producers. We have a
pictures and slide films between New Ingersoll Rand, Sylvania, Hammermill thorough knowledge of the problems in
York and Detroit. Paper, Masonite, National Gypsum, business today -- sales, sales promotion,
A yellow brick coach house, located Xerox, and Hooker Chemical Corp. advertising, public relations, -- because
at the rear of an estate at 233 North St., A solid 20% of the firm's business is of our constant exposure to these prob-
initially served as the film company's in the non-commercial field, serving the lems with some of the finest companies
operating base and studio headquarters. motion picture needs of such non-profit in the country."
In just three and one-half years, how- groups as the Cleveland, Rochester and As president of the firm and past
ever, Holland-Wegman outgrew the old Buffalo & Erie County United Fund, president of the Buffalo-Niagara Sales
coach house's 2,000-sq. ft. facilities and Massachusetts General Hospital, Amer- & Marketing Executives Inc., Wegman
leased 5,000 square feet at 197 Delaware. ican Society of Internal Medicine, New displays a keen awareness of problems
Again, three and one-half years later, York State Bar Assn., Oberlin College, plaguing the business community, "We
mushrooming business dictated a move Hobart College and the State University haven't set ourselves up as business con-
into even larger quarters at 207 Delaware of Buffalo. sultants, even though this is often what
Ave., where the firm remodeled the entire While Buffalo may be off the beaten we are," he says, "Rather, we play the
ballroom of the Mars Hotel at a cost of track as a film source center, Holland- more tangible role of 'problem solver'
$100,000 and opened an 18,000-sq.-ft. Wegman finds this situation more of an by communicating effectively with cus-
studio considered one of the finest in the asset than a liability. The film competes tomers, stockholders, employes and the
nation. Facilities include a three-story successfully against other major studios general public through the use of motion
high sound stage, 50 by 70 feet, which in such large metropolitan centers as pictures or sound film strips, so that
can accommodate up to seven different New York, Detroit and Chicago while people will be motivated to think what
sets at one time. Also, there are modern measured against one common yard- our clients want them to think and do
offices, editing rooms, sound recording stick that knows no geographical bound- what they want them to do -- buy, sell,
studios and art and animation depart- aries: Creativity. invest."
ments, all equipped with the finest tech- "Here in Buffalo," explains Ed Weg- Some of the leading names in broad-
nical facilities available. man, "we are insulated against the cross- casting and entertainment have worked
Some 20 skilled creative craftsmen, pollination that can and does stifle with and under the direction of Holland-
several of whom have been with Holland- creativity. Film buyers like and demand Wegman personnel in the production of
Wegman since its earliest days, make up fresh, different, original treatment of business films and TV commercials.
the staff of writers, directors, cine- their subjects. We have a competent These include Chet Huntley, Bob Con-
Continued
January 1964 . BUFFALO 19
.